Is an Ozent worth it?

An Oztent hurriedly set up

What is an Oztent?

The Oztent is an Australian designed tent which is primarily known for its fast set up time. They come in various sizes, and are built to last. They are all dark green and shaped the same. Numerous accessories can be purchased to add extra rooms, awnings etc (more on this below).

Stand the 2 legs and it's done!

Is the 30 second setup time true?

To physically get the tent standing, it takes longer to get it out of the bag than it does to stand the tent up. It would probably take about a minute to get it out of the bag and have it standing, and then another few minutes knocking pegs in. From there though, most people have other accessories to add – awnings to set up, front rooms, fly’s and then undoing windows etc. However, it is an extremely fast tent to set up, and not much else comes anywhere even close. This is the primary reason so many people purchase Oztents!

To set my Oztent RV 5 up with all of the accessories you can do it in under 6 minutes with 2 people.

These days though, unless we are staying in one spot for a long time, we just set the tent up with a few pegs and two guy ropes. Once the tent bag is on the ground its less than a couple of minutes.

Oztent sizes

There are 5 different sizes of Oztents – RV1, RV2, RV3, RV4, RV5. The tents are numbered according to how many people can sleep in them (they do say +1 for each model). However, I highly doubt you would fit 6 fully grown adults very comfortably in an RV5, even with a front room to throw all of the gear.

Why doesn’t everyone have one?

There are a few reasons that these are not on everyone’s shopping list. The first is that they are very long when folded up. The RV1 is 1.6 metres long when in its bag, and the rest are 2 metres long. This means that the only way to carry them is on the roof racks or in a very long vehicle (ute or troopy). This can be a big issue for those that can’t lift the tent up onto roof racks, and for those that don’t even have roof racks in the first place.

The other main issue is the price. A base model RV1 is $849 (without any discounts), and a base model RV5 is $1249. If you were to purchase an RV5 with a tarp, side panels, front panel and fly from the Oztent website you would be looking at nearly $1900. However, they are an incredible tent and a massive number of people do own them, and love them!

Not much compares to the Oztent!

Oztent Accessories

The standard Oztent comes with an awning out the front, poles, pegs and rope. If you want more room, you can purchase sides for the awning, and a front panel. This essentially gives you a second room, and is well worth it. Note that there are 2 different types of side panels. A tarp, or ‘floor saver’ as it is termed on the website is another worthy investment, as no matter how good your tent is the floor is the first thing to go. A fly can be used to keep the tent cooler, and to keep the water off the tent. You won’t have any issues with water getting through the canvas, but it still a good idea.

Oztent also sell tag along tents, which can be joined to the main tent. These are great as your family grows up; the kids can sleep in a tent that is connected to the adults.

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Buying a cheap Oztent

I would always suggest that you get a better deal on an Oztent. I purchased an RV5 with every accessory you can get (except the tarp and front panel) for $900, second hand. It had been used twice and was in perfect condition. That is literally half the price. The other option is to look for deals done online, or in camping and outdoor stores. Ranger Outdoors and BCF will be able to do better deals if you are prepared to haggle. If you don’t ask, you don’t get! Wait for sales, and you can quite easily get 20% off. That’s a substantial amount of money. If you want a fantastic deal on an Oztent, check Snowys outdoors out - Oztent RV Range at Snowys.

If you own an Oztent, let me know what you think of it. I personally love mine, and have had 0 issues with it.

Updated review:

We've had our Oztent now for a number of years. Off the top of my head we must have spent around 100 nights in the tent, with absolutely zero issues. This includes 5 nights spent in the windiest conditions I've ever experienced at Gnaraloo station, various storms and all sorts of different temperatures. They really are a fantastic product!

Bought an RV4 with deluxe peaked walls purely because I can put it up and pull it down by myself if my partner is incapacitated. Half normal price, 2nd hand from Gumtree. A few hours after purchase we set it up in a caravan park and sat through a wicked storm, toasty warm inside the tent. Couldn’t be happier!

We are planning a trip later this month where we will be moving from place to place almost every day. That ’30 second’ setup is going to be my life saver – I’m just praying for soft ground to bang the pegs in to once it is up 😉

We have a Jackaroo SE now so the tent won’t fit inside the car with us. Single person lift on to roof rack will be made easier as we will make a rail similar to the Kayak ones … lift one end of tent and rest it against rail sticking out from side of roof rack at 90­ degrees, then lift other end of tent on to the actual roof rack, then slide the first end across. I’ll post some pics on FB when we get it finished